A Christmas Tail
by TheFirstFox
Summary: Well now, if i told you everything, it wouldn't be any fun. Okay, so picture this. We Open on a cold Winter's Night, with out favorite fox and bunny, and one extra guest, Santa! He brings with him his HUGE sack of toys, with gifts for all the girls and boys, filled with Christmas spirit as he gives with a smile, and then... some action with a mistletoe!
1. Bogo's Gift

"Twas the Night before Christmas, and all thro' the house.

Not a mammal was stirring, not even a mouse;

The Stockings were hung by the chimneys with care,

In hopes that Officer Nick soon would be there;

The bunnies were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of fluffy foxes danced in their heads."

It was a cold winter's morning, there was snow on the ground and icicles hanging from the gutters, the weather-mammals had forecasted snow all throughout Zootopia. It was going to be Judy's first 'Big City Christmas', until she got a phone call from Bogo.

"Officer Hopps, I would like to give you and Wilde a Christmas present." Bogo said in a much calmer than normal tone.

"Really Chief?!" Judy replied with shock saturating her voice.

"Yes, you and Wilde better not set foot in my precinct until exactly one week after the New Year's Day." he demanded jokingly.

"Roger that! We wouldn't dream of it! Thank you so much, sir!" she said, her voice almost sounding like a kit.

"Have a Merry Christmas! Hopps. See you in two weeks."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Chief!" she said as she hung up the phone. She had a smile from ear to ear, she knew exactly what she was gonna do with her time off.

* * *

"Nick P. Wilde"

"Hey Nick, Bogo gave

us the next two weeks

Off!" - 20:50

"Wait… is he ok?" - 20:50

"Shhh, just get packed!"

-20:51

"For?"-20:51

"I wanna take you to my

Family's christmas"-20:52

"Nick"?-20:55

"You what?"-20:59

"I want to take you to a

Christmas Party"-2100

"..."-2102

* * *

After a moment, Judy heard someone knocking on her door. She got up to get it, but stopped just short of opening the door.

"Nick, I bet 20 bucks that's you!" She yelled, then laughs as a twenty dollar bill slides from under the door.

"Nope, you win. Can you open the door?" He replied.

"Why did that text bother you?" Judy said as she opened the door.

"You, want to take me, a fox, to a home with 200+ bunnies in it, not to mention your parents. Doesn't that sound like a bad idea to you?" he said in a concerned tone.

"No, not really, I think they'll be happy to see my fellow officer. You need some open air, anyways! Now, I want you to be packed and ready to go by 9:30 tomorrow morning, okay?" she asked in a demanding and yet playful tone.

"Fine, mom!" he sarcastically replied as he walked out.

Back in his apartment, he lays in his bed, watching the snow fall onto the streets below. As the snow continues to fall and the temperature drop, the streets clear and the street lights illuminate the freshly fallen snow below. Slowly his eyes close and he begins to dream. . . of the way christmas used to be, when he was just a little kit. His mom and dad sitting behind him, laughing as his tail wagged back and forth in anticipation to open the presents under the tree. He was happy, those were the days he missed, but until recently, never wanted to remember. Thanks to Judy, that has changed. She showed him that the past wasn't always a dark and scary place. You should always learn from your history, but never dwell on it. One of her many sayings was "Without knowledge of the past, history is doomed to repeat itself".

Judy was across the hall, surrounded by fluffy plush bunnies and one single, very well hidden, plush fox. Waiting anxiously for tomorrow to come,"Tomorrow, I get to go home!" she said in a calm, extremely happy voice. After a short period of time, Judy nodded off, her radio silently playing Christmas songs in the background. "And I saw Mommy Kissing, Santa Claus, Underneath the mistletoe last night!" was the last thing she heard before she fell completely asleep and drifted off into her dream. She dreamt of the times she saw santa giving gifts to kits at the mall and giving gifts to elders at the retirement home, his kindness to others and willing to give, truly made her feel the spirit of Christmas. She remembered the many times she sat on Santa's lap at the mall, it truly made her day. She would always ask if she could be 'Santa's Assistant' when it came to handing out the presents at Christmas. Which was a mighty task for the 2-3 bunny's that were selected for it in the Hopps Family. She only got it wrong one or two times... "Jeneane, Jeniece, what's the difference" she begged to her sisters. The remembrance of this good time, brought a smile to her as she slept in complete silence.

Outside a group of Christmas carolers were wandering from door to door, in the frigid weather, singing to bring the Christmas spirit to all, because everyone deserved it, but not everyone got it. They went door to door, singing from a list of song, occasionally getting ignored, or told to leave, but more commonly getting smiles that warmed their world, and some occasional figgy pudding. "Oh Bring us some figgy pudding, Oh Bring us some Figgy pudding, Oh Bring us some Figgy pudding and bring it right here!" they sang as the voices echoed into the clear, snowy, moonlit sky, bringing Joy to as much of Zootopia as they could, one mammal at a time. As the City of Zootopia drifted off into sleep, the Christmas spirit continued to linger, infecting all who were near, Including Nicholas P. Wilde.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey guys! Fox here with the first content ever released under my name! With much help from a few secret Beta's and AnimatedWriter1, we've managed to scrounge up a Christmas special, Just for you! I want to wish all of you a** **Very, Merry Christmas** **on behalf of all the people that contributed to the making of this Christmas Special. Special or not, your feedback is encouraged because it tells us you are reading and enjoying the chapter's, but it also helps us improve, so thank you much!**

 **Merry Christmas, from A.W1, Detroiter18, an anonymous Beta, and myself.**

 **Next Chapter due soon.**


	2. The Long Trip Ahead

"Come on, Nick! We need to get to the station before 10:30!" Judy shouted with joy as she ran down the stairs and placed her baggage at the building's door. She was filled with excitement, it has been months since she was able to go back to the burrows to see her family; in her mind, this was the best gift Bogo could've ever given her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Nick responded as he tried to find his stuff. He was starting to regret not packing the night before. Now that it was time to leave, he couldn't find half the stuff he needed to survive his time in the burrows. His phone was almost dead and he had no clue where his coat was. By the time he found his phone charger, Judy was glaring at him from the doorway.

"What did I tell you, Nicholas!? You needed to be completely packed by last night!" she said as she ran into his adjacent apartment to help him out. She ran to his closet and returned with a suitcase and a suit. "You _are_ going to wear a suit to the party." she said, staring at him until he replied with a silent nod. "Good Fox!" she said as she ran out the door, then continued, "When I come back, that bag better have all your belongings in it, or we won't stop at the cafe for breakfast.". That ultimatum got the fox's attention; his ears shot up as he quickly ran to his dresser and started flinging clothes into the suitcase. By the time Judy returned from her apartment, he was completely packed and waiting outside his apartment, ears laid back with a smirk on his face. "What took you so long, carrots?" he said as he walked off.

After a few more hang ups, the two finally made it out the door into the cold, snowy weather. They headed off towards the cafe. It was nice and warm inside the shop compared to the weather outside. Nick enjoyed the smell of all the different flavors and spices as he walked in. Judy made a note to tease him about his tail swaying back and forth as he stared at the food on display like a kit.

"Good Morning!" the familiar friendly antelope waitress waved.

"Hey, Annabelle!" Judy replied with cheer.

"What can i get you guys today, the usual?"

"Yes please, and two peppermint coffees"

"I told you, just call me Anna, it's easier. Two usuals coming up." Annabelle replied.

After a few minutes, she returned with their food, things were slow in the cafe today

"So have you built yourselves a snowman yet, the snow was coming down in layers last night. A group of carollers came up to my doorstep and I felt so bad for them, spending all night in that weather" Annabelle said, trying to start up a conversation.

"No time, right after we finish here, we gotta board a train heading to the burrows!" Judy commented as she started eating her food.

"Oh really? Is Nick going with you?" Anna queried, now giving her full attention to the conversation at hand.

"Yes, yes I am going with her." Nick said with slight hesitation after he finished a mouthful. His ears dropped a bit and his tail stopped swaying.

"What's wrong, bunny got your tail?" Annabelle teased, bringing a snicker from Judy. Nick raised his ear and put on a smile. He wasn't going to let his worries harm the bunny's good time.

After they finished their meals, they waved goodbye and returned to the cold outdoors. After a little bit, they finally arrived at the station with food in hand and boarded the train. "I'm soo happy to be heading home for Christmas!" Judy said with the same excitement she had when she expressed her dreams that day on the stage in front of her whole class.

"I'm not so sure it was a good idea for you to take me, given the stories I've heard about your grandpa and all." Nick replied in a half hearted tone. After all the calls, where he'd heard her grandfather say "Foxes are red because they are made by the Devil!" and "Make sure you stay away from Happy Town, that's where all the foxes live!". After a while it started to become just another background noise to Judy, but to Nick, when he heard her grandfather say that, it reminded him of things that Judy had helped put behind him.

"Well, why not, Nick? I'm sure the little ones will love you and I always wanted you to see the burrows!" Judy responded with a half concerned tone. It was true, she had always wanted Nick to see the burrows, ever since they became friends. She hadn't quite thought of the problems with her older siblings, all she could think about was the joy of being back home and how much fun the storm of fluff was gonna have with Nick; the first fox from the city to ever enter their home. "I'm sure it'll be fine" she said trying to ease the situation.

"Do they even know I'm coming with you this year?" Nick asked with a stressful tone.

"Sweet Cheese and Crackers! NO!" she shouted, attracting the wrong kind of attention from the other occupants in the car. All of their eyes lifted, ears tuned forward, staring right at Judy as she fumbled for the phone in her pocket. Nick backed away from Judy, who was also staring at the bewildering actions of the bunny standing next to her.

"You see Judy, if a cabin full of random strangers reacted that strongly to you realizing you didn't plan properly, what do you think your family is gonna do?" He quietly uttered, but the bunny was too distracted to respond, trying to call her parents to let them know they are coming. After several failed calls, there was nothing left but a flustered bunny and an anxious fox. They both just sat there, quiet, for the rest of the trip. It was only about a 2 1/2 hours for the train to get to the burrows, after that it was another hour of travel to get to the final destination.

* * *

The Train finally pulled into the station, after a long, silent ride. The two hopped off the train with their luggage in hand. Much to Nick's surprise, everything was shaped like carrots and bunnies.

"Uhm, Carrots, everything is. . . well. . . carrots!" He stated with a chuckle.

"Did you think for a second it wouldn't be, come on, this is bunny culture we are talking about, Nick!" she retorted with a joking smile as she picked up a magazine from a stand shaped kind of like a carrot and tossed it to him. "Better do some research on bunnies, then."

"Heya Jude the dude!" came a southern shout from across the train station.

"Hi Buck!" Judy shouted with glee as she charged the random rabbit and wrapped him tightly into a warm hug. Nick slowly approached the two, Judy's luggage weighing heavy in his arms. He stopped a foot or so short of where Judy was and just stood there, silent, as Judy excitedly carried on a conversation with this male bunny. Nick just smiles as he waits, awkwardly, for Judy to introduce him, as his arms start to burn from the weight of the luggage.

"J-J-Judy? Do you know that fox?" Buck replied with a bit of shock from the new guest that just entered his world. It was a bunny's natural enemy. It's primary, instinctual fear. It was. . . a fox!

"Yes, Bucky and 'that fox' has a title and a name, you know." she retorted in a condescending tone as she backed up and stood beside her newfound partner.

"R-Right, sorry, mister. . . .?" Bucky replied, trying to calm his nerves.

"I'm Nick Wilde, nice to meet you " Nick said hesitantly. He was just as afraid about meeting the rest of the Hopps family as they were of him. He was worried that Stu would try to get Judy to quit the force, like he did the first time him and Nick met at Judy's old apartment. He was barely able to carve a way out of that situation the first time, the second time would probably not be as easy.

"Uhm, is my father, you can just call me Bucky." He replied as he walked off towards the car. After they all got in, it was a long silent ride back to the Hopps Family Farm. Once they got away from the station and made it into the open areas, Nick was flabbergasted. He had never seen so much free space, or so many carrots and trees.

"Car-eh-Judy, look at all this free space! I've never seen so much!" Nick said in amazement as he stared out the window like a kit on a field trip

Bucky and Judy couldn't help but give a chuckle at his comment. Bucky, who was trying to put his best paw forward for his favorite sister, decided to attempt a conversation with the astounded passenger.

"So, you're a 'city slicker', Nick?" he asked in a slightly more comfortable tone though still nervous. After a slight delay, Nick replied with a simple nod followed by "yesm", as he continued to gawk out the car window at their surroundings. "How does your dad maintain all of this, Judy?" he queried, still dumbfounded by the sheer size of the farm.

"It's a family business, you see, when a bunny loves another bunny, they have kits, and those kits have kits, and those kits have kits, who. . . " Judy sarcastically replied before she was quickly interrupted by Nick, "I get the point, but where can you guys sleep?"

"Oh you'll see." she said with a smiling mixed with a smirk as they pulled into the garage.

 **A/N: Hey Guys, I know it's a bit of an abrupt ending, but this is all I could do in the time I had, I hope you all had a wonderful "Boxing Day", which I must say, I've not heard of until now. Thank you for reading this chapter and please click that follow and favorite icon at the bottom of the screen when you leave your review, it really makes our day.**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**

 **~The Christmas Tails Crew**

 **P.S. I made a minor mistake, it's Detroiter27, not Detroiter18. I** **highly** **recommend his story, 'Zootopia's Finest', for anyone interested in a darker, more gritty fanfic :) -Shameless Self-Promotion from Detroiter27**


	3. Ch3 Tiny Tim

"Uh, Nick, why don't you stay outside and I'll go tell my parents I brought a guest." Judy said before Nick had the chance to unbuckle his seatbelt. "Bucky, why don't you stay here with Nick" she added as she walked off towards the entrance of the compound.

Bucky and Nick sat silently in the car for a moment. "Uh, Bucky, are you older or younger then Judy?" Nick asked, hoping to break the silence.

"I'm a few years older than my favorite lil'sis" , Bucky replied. The conversation grew slowly as they grew more comfortable with each other, but inside the house there was an entirely different conversation about to begin.

* * *

"Hey mom! Merry Christmas!" Judy shouted as she ran to hug her mother. "Do you know where dad went?"

"I think he's out in the first barn. Why?" Bonnie replied as she returned the hug. The Hopps own many large fields at their compound. A good number of barns stored the equipment and other miscellaneous odds and ends.

"Uhm, I brought a guest and I want to make sure he, or anyone, isn't going to freak out." Judy said as she ran back towards the garage, which was on the way to the first barn. When she walked out, she saw Nick and Bucky having a chat in the car and her father coming towards the house. Ignoring everything else, she bolted towards her father with a smile on her face. "Hey Dad!" she yelled as she closed the gap between them.

"Judy! Welcome home!" he shouted as he opened his arms up for a big father-daughter hug. "Come on, let's go sit down, me and your mother want to hear all about your job and the city!" Stu said happily.

"Actually, before we do that, I have someone I want you and mom to meet." Judy said as she walked off towards the garage, her father following suite. As she walked into the garage she saw her mother coming out to call Stu in for lunch. "Perfect, you are both here, I've got something to show you!" Judy said with anticipation. The trio entered the garage where Bucky and Nick were waiting. Nick was standing behind Bucky, silently waiting.

"Uhm. . . Judy, why is there a random fox in my garage?" Stu asked, nerves clearly on edge.

"Mom, dad, meet my partner, Nick Wilde." Judy said with joy. The color drained from Stu's face and his mouth curled at the edges. Bonnie's ears shot up into position as she heard the word 'partner'. Stu and Bonnie stared at their daughter in shock. "Partner?!" The two said shockingly at the exact same time. Judy's ears turned more red than Nick's fur. Nick was on edge as he started breathing heavily and his pupils were the size of a dinner plate. It was their turn for the color to drain from their faces. Bucky was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. "M-MOM, DAD! WHY!? NO! SWEET CHEESE AND CRACKERS!" Judy shouted as she started to burn even more red. Nick was stuck like a broken record. When he finally recovered he was in a coughing fit.

" , I'm her _work_ partner, we solve cases together at the ZPD, nothing for you to worry about." he uttered in a very clear voice. That one misunderstanding felt like being hit by a truck for Nick and Judy. The now awkward greeting was quickly concluded, one the way inside, Nick and Stu kept tripping over their own feet. When they entered the house, Bonnie went off to the kitchen with Stu following close behind. Bucky went down the many corridors in the building and Judy took Nick to one of the living rooms so they could calm down after the trip. After things started to settled down, Nick's fur lowered and Judy started talking to him about her family. "Bucky was born two groups before me, most of his group moved out to start their own farms but he stayed to help mom and dad. He does a lot of the hard work with dad, which really helps him." She said as she pointed at his picture on the wall. "We call this one, Skipper. He went off and got a desk job with the Zootopia Coast Guard after I graduated the academy, mom and dad were so proud." she added with a few tears of happiness. Nick sat beside her, listening intently, as she went on and on about her family. As she did so, the walls, windows and doors slowly started to grow ears.

"Judy, don't look now, but I think we're being hunted." he said sarcastically as he grew a slight smirk. There weren't that many, but the numbers kept growing. Slowly his smirk left his smug mug and replaced itself with a slight grimace of worry. "Uh, Judy, how many siblings did you say you have?"

"Oh, I have 244 or so, but some of my older siblings that were born in earlier groups than me had kits already, so there are more than my generation here. Yes, there is getting to be quite a good number of kits here, you should be worried." she said with a malicious smile. "Come on out guys, it's safe," Judy said into the sea of ears. A large wave of rabbits piled around them from all angles. "Judy Judy Judy Judy!" was all you could hear, Nick's ears lowered. "That's a lot of bunnies," he stammered. Opening his mouth was oopsie number one. All the bunnies in the room turned to stare at him, it felt like 1,000 mammals were staring into his soul. "Eh, Carr-Judy, I, uh… can you help me?"

"Nope, you're on your own, get'm!" She shouted trying to contain her laughter. It took the kerfuffle no time to take down the mighty fox, he fell within mere moments of the attack. "He's so fluffy!, "Is he related to Gideon?", "Are you two going out?", "I like Uncle Nick!" came random shouts from the crowd.

"You see, Nick. I control the kerfluffle, they are my army!" Judy taunted.

"I guess I'll settle for death by cuteness. At least it's a good way to go," he joked. All at once everything stopped, causing an uneasy feeling. A hushed whisper could be heard amongst the crowd and a small rabbit with a cast and a crutch stepped forward. "You know you can't call a bunny cute, right? It's okay if another bunny does it. But when others, ya know… bigger animals say it, it's…." he stopped in mid-sentence.

"Right, my bad, sorry- uh, what's your name?" Nick responded in a half sorrowed tone. He didn't know why, but the little bunnies made him feel happy. Maybe it was their open minds, their willing acceptance of whatever life throws at them, or their undying urge to play and have fun.

"I'm Timmy but everyone calls me Tiny Tim, you're Uncle Nick, right?" the little kit replied.

"No, I'm not your uncle, Sorry. My name is Nick though." he answered with a smile.

* * *

"She brought a fox! Why didn't she ask first!" Stu said to Bonnie, worry riddling his voice. He was in deep panic, a fox that he'd never met was in _his_ burrow!

"She brought a fox, let alone her childhood bully. If she trusts him enough to work with him on a daily basis, I'm sure he'll be fine. He's an officer, that's gotta count for something." She commented as she pulled a tray of sandwiches out and placed them on the counter beside the others. Her tone told more about her true thoughts then her words, she trusted her daughter's' decisions, but this one gave her doubt. _If one fox can be more than we thought, then the others can too._ she thought to herself. _Surely if Gideon made such a great turn around, we can trust this one._ The voice in her head echoed.

"It does, Bonnie, but some foxes never change. I hope for Judy's sake he does." Stu mumbled.

"I mean… to be honest, he might make a good father." she added as she pointed out towards the second living room. "See, he's good with the little ones."

"What did you just say, Bonnie?" He replied, tuning his hears more towards his wife.

"Good heavens, Stu. I meant in general." She chuckled as she put the last tray on the counter. She reached for a microphone. "First call, Group One lunch! First call, Group One lunch!" She said quickly then put it back on the wall.

"Nick, come on, let's go get a bite to eat." Judy said as she watched the entire kerfluffle become a straight line heading in the direction of the kitchen. "You guys are very organized when it comes to doing things, aren't you?" He observed.

"Well, you kinda have to be when it comes to having this large of a family. We even sort the rooms by birth order and name. Follow me, it's this way to the dining hall" she added as she started off down the hall.

 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry for being so late, my plate got full pretty fast and i had to put this one on the back burner. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Before i go i want to leave you with a few notes. Please leave a like, follow and favorite, it really makes my day to know you guys are enjoying the chapters. Please Please Please! Leave a review as well, it helps us get better at our writing which… let's be honest, it needs a lot of work. Last but** **NOT** **least, i'd like to say Happy Birthday to one of the followers here, I hope you had a lot of fun and didn't go too far ;) Have a Happy New Year, Man.**

 **Fox out!**

 **P.S. If you caught the references, then i'd like to know if you saw them, since we both know you have every intention on leaving a review, why don't you say which ones you caught and which ones you didn't there :)**

 **New chap out soon.**


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